Auroras 23rd Birthday

Paco Taco's and Tequila would of been proud. I cooked up a mexican feast yesterday for Aurora's birthday that was spot on!
Burrito's stuffed with slow cooked chicken thighs, breasts, yellow rice and colby jack cheese, with a sofrito cheese sauce over top,
refried beans with onion and chili's, mexican risotto with scallion, red pepper and cheddar. And blender's full of strawberry margaritas. Oma made brownie sundays and a great time was had by all!
The day started out with the season's first paddle down the Nine Mile Swamp which was greatly needed. The swamp is up a good three feet. The party tree near the end of the paddle (about an hour out) was underwater. We were kayaking the banks in some places. The beaver's have been busy with many sapling chewed down and beaver lodge's built up. We startled up several pair of Canadian geese and saw a brown mink. Yesterday was an awesome spring day!

Winter White Out.mp4

Peace Signs Cherry Blossoms And A Hawk In The Capitol

We stopped in Arlington on the way home from Cocoa to visit with Bill's daughter Kelly and her fine family. Once we got through the white knuckle traffic jams and into the heart of Arlington and all it's suburbs, I relaxed and very much enjoyed the lifestyle there. Everything is close, compact and landscaped. The eateries vastly diverse. Museums and Galleries every where. Soaking up the sun in back of Kelly's adorable red brick home on a small yard, fence enclosed with gorgeous and gigantic old pin oaks, budded but not bloomed overhead, we decided to make the 10 minute trek in to the capitol so see the cherry blossoms. I gladly took the back seat with my camera to let Kelly take the wheel and for Bill and her to chat on the way in. Lou went once again under the seat. His seating choice through out the whole trip. Under the seat.
The capitol was buzzing away with tourists, school groups, paddle boaters and spy like business men milling around in the new spring sun. It seemed everyone was oblivious to the fact that the whole government was about to shut down not being able to pass the budget. Both Kelly and Steve work for the EPA and Kelly was worried about not getting her last pay check. Steve had gone to work that morning and reported that a cooper hawk had some how flown into the Congress Library. Strange sign of the time.
So here are a few shots... I Just love Kelly's peace sign shirt. We should all sport a peace sign shirt when we visit the capitol.

Writer's Jubilee

Every spring, the Morrisville Elementary School hosts a Writer's Jubilee and offers creative writing workshops for parents and children through out the school. I've participated in this now for the last three or four years with a sketch to music workshop. Here are a few drawings from John, his sister Grace and Taylor. They were sketched to my songs, "Up The River Cold" my song about Noah John Rondeau and "Hey Momma Loomis" my song about the Loomis Gang.

Sun Rising Over The Banana River

A lovely sight that need no words. These shots were taken from bed in my Glass enclosed Florida Camp Ground.

Extreme Weather And A Great Blue Herring In A Great Blue Pool

It seems I can't escape the severe weather where ever I go! It's the end of March and Central New York is hunkering in for another Nor-Eastern and here I sit in a Florida spanish stucco, under turbulent rolling thunderheads with tornado warnings gliding by in the bottom half of the tv news screen. The night before, the southern wind blew so hard it tipped over 40 planes at a nearby airport, ripped off many roofs and caused over 150 automobile accidents. Bill and I use his father's sun porch as our guest room when ever we come. I wouldn't trade this room in for nothing. It's my Florida camp ground enclosed in glass, overlooking the peaceful, therapeutic Banana River. I camp there with my trusty electric inflatable mattress. There's a small table and chairs for my laptop overlooking the Banana and the shimmering, swimming pool. Exotic to me birds singing in the swaying palms overhead and a landscaper man dead heading below. Even my Taylor guitar has a look of contentment! I'm reading the classic, Jane Eyre on the ole ipad. Happy hour starts at five, I'm panko breading some tilopia for dinner. Freshly wrapped sushi for hors-de-voirs... Oh God this all just makes me so freaking happy! I did talk with me mumsie this morning and it turns out the Nor-Eastern was only a dusting. This also makes me happy as I couldn't wish another foot load of snow on anybody after this cruel winter. I also think some of the CNY weather men need to go back to weather man school. Their hype gets to be a little much.
The first night in Cocoa the storm blew in, I was close to packing up heading for the couch in the living room. Sleeping out in a closed in glass porch during a tornado warning wouldn't be the smartest thing I've ever done. Luckily, the only thing that blew away on the condo was a screen which is in the very window at my head where I sleep. I'm glad it's gone and my Banana river view is clear and unhindered! This March's Florida storm is now on its way somewhere over the Atlantic and gratefully nothing like previous devastating storms of the past. Which brings to mind the bitch Katrina. Bill and I know all about that, escaping her by a mere day on our New Orleans adventure those years ago. Another story I can't go into as after two days of on vacation gray, this morning's sky is blue and the Banana River sparkles by, gifting me with curling dolphins, snorting manatee's and soaring jurassic park like prehistoric birds, quite humbling my little scrapper of a dog if I may add. It's a beautiful day! Time to leash him up and get out in it!

The Spirit House

Above photo is by Roger DeMuth ~ Eight Photos stitched together.
For years. I have been attracted to this lovely old gem in Georgetown NY. I discovered it in my early 20's on my way to play at the Georgetown Inn. This was before the house was considered a historic land mark. I didn't know anything of early architect's back then, but knew standing before this house one summer day that it was special.
Now, the house stands gutted and is for sale. A fellow by the name of Madis Senner is working non-stop to put together a society to preserve the Spirit House and already has a gotten great press and a good following of local historians and other people drawn to its wedding cake magic allure.
Here is a link to the blog of the tour Bill and I took last Saturday.
http://spirithousesocietypictures.blogspot.com/
www.spirithousesociety.org